This application is a co-pending application of patent applications with unknown serial numbers, respectively entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH PIVOTABLE CONTACTxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBATTERY CONNECTORxe2x80x9d, invented by the same inventor, filed on the same date, and assigned to the same assignee of the present invention.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a battery connector, and more particularly to a battery connector having dual compression terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electrical or electronic appliances normally use rechargeable batteries as power sources. The batteries have contact faces, which, when the batteries are inserted in the electrical or electronic appliances, engage with resilient contact elements of battery connectors in the electrical or electronic appliances. As those electrical or electronic appliances are becoming more and more compact, the battery connectors used therein have a reduced size, which results in that the terminals of these battery connectors have a reduced size accordingly. It is usually difficult for a small contact to have a good resilience.
Referring to. FIG. 6, U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,519 discloses an electrical connector 7 for a rechargeable battery. The electrical connector 7 has an elongate insulative base 71 with a plurality of terminals 72 fixed thereto and a cover 73. Each terminal 72 has a soldering portion 721, a connection portion 722 and a contacting portion 723. A bore 711 is defined in a top wall 713 of the insulative base 71. Two pairs of grooves 712 are respectively defined in opposite sides of a bottom wall 714 of the insulative base 71. The cover 73 has a top wall 736 and two side walls 730 depending downwardly from two lateral sides of the top wall 736. A plurality of slots 735 is defined in the top wall 736 for receiving the terminals 72. Two pairs of resilient arms 733 protrude downwardly from the top wall 736 into an interior space (not labeled) of the cover 73. A protrusion 732 is formed on a free end of each resilient arm 733 for engaging with a corresponding groove 712 of the insulative base 71. A pin 734 extends from the top wall 736 into the interior space of the cover 73 for being inserted into the bore 711 of the insulative base 71.
However, the formation of the two pairs of resilient arms 733 and the pin 734 formed on the cover 73 and the bore 711 defined in the insulative base 71 complicate the structure of the connector. The manufacturing process of the connector is further complicated and the production cost is increased, since the terminals are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB, not shown) by tedious soldering.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,381 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/037,350, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, disclose related battery connectors. The terminals of the battery connectors are soldered to PCBs, whereby a simple manufacturing process and a low cost is not achievable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,626 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,440 disclose conventional battery connectors, each having terminals soldered to PCBs. The terminals of these conventional connectors, due to their configurations, do not have good resilience so that after a period of use of these connectors, the terminals thereof may be no longer resilient sufficiently to have a reliable engagement with the batteries.
Hence, an improved battery connector with simple structure and improved terminals is needed to overcome the foregoing-shortcomings.
It is an object of this invention to provide a battery connector having a simple structure.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a battery connector having dual-compression terminals, so that the terminals can be electrically connected to a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the connector is mounted without soldering, and the terminals are resilient enough to undergo repeated stress for a long period without fatigue.
It is still an object of this invention to provide a battery connector with terminals firmly secured in a housing thereof.
A battery connector according to the present invention includes an insulative housing, an insert and a plurality of terminals insert molded with the insert. The housing has a front wall, side walls, a rear wall, a top wall and inner walls together defining a plurality of passageways therebetween. A plurality of grooves is defined in a lower portion of the rear wall, and a plurality of slots is defined in the top wall in communication with the passageways. A hole and a cutout are defined in each of the side walls. An opening is defined in a bottom of the housing transecting the passageways. The insert has a body portion and two lock portions formed respectively on opposite ends of the body portion for engaging with the housing. Each terminal has a contacting portion, a first spring portion, a connection portion, a second spring portion and a mounting portion. The contacting portion has a convexity and a free end portion. A pair of tabs is formed on opposite edges of the connection portion of each terminal. The second spring portion is shaped generally having a profile of three-fourth circle.